Method of, and a System for, Drilling to a Position Relative to a Geological Boundary

ABSTRACT

A system for mining material in a seam under an overburden layer using a geological model map of a geological formation, including a desired drilling end point at a predefined position relative to a geological boundary between the overburden layer and seam. A drill controller controls operation of a drill drilling a blast hole. A sensor pack senses, while drilling the blast hole, blast hole drilling operation parameters; and feeds the sensed parameters in real time to the drill controller. A data storage module stores a geological model of the geological formation and sensed parameters data. A processor module generates a geological model map including the desired drilling end point and locates the drill bit position relative to the geological boundary and such end point. The drill controller drills to the desired drilling end point and causes the drill to stop drilling upon reaching such end point.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 17/028,082, filed Sep. 22, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/412,049, filed Dec. 30, 2014, which is anational phase application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of InternationalApplication No. PCT/AU2013/000734, filed on Jul. 5, 2013, which claimsthe benefit of Australian Provisional Patent Application No 2012902919filed on Jul. 6, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated in thisspecification by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates, generally, to drilling technology and, moreparticularly, to a method of, and a system for, drilling to a positionrelative to a geological boundary.

BACKGROUND

At present, when mining metals or minerals that occur in stratigraphicbands such as, for example, coal, diamonds or copper, boreholes aredrilled to a defined depth into stratigraphy using anoperator-controlled drill to enable a waste blast to be performed toremove the overburden. If, for example, in an open-cut mine it isrequired to drill holes to the stratigraphic boundary separatingoverburden from a seam of material to be mined, the operator typicallydrills a certain number of boreholes into the seam and detectspenetration of the seam by the colour of material deposited at a collargenerated about an entrance to the borehole during the drillingoperation.

Standard procedure is to drill every fifth borehole into the seam anduse the information gathered about the depth of the seam to inhibitpenetration of the remaining boreholes into the seam to minimise theamount of seam material being removed with the overburden whensubsequent blasting occurs. However, in practice it is common for allboreholes to be drilled into the seam. This results in a great deal ofvaluable seam material being lost when subsequent blasting occurs andthe penetrated seam material is removed together with the overburden.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect, there is provided a method of drilling to a positionrelative to a geological boundary in a geological formation, the methodincluding

sensing borehole parameters while a borehole is being drilled in thegeological formation;

feeding the sensed parameters to a controller which controls operationof a drill drilling the borehole;

using the sensed parameters to locate the position of a drill bit of thedrill in the geological formation and its corresponding position withina geological model of the geological formation being drilled;

using the sensed parameters and the geological model also to locate theposition of the drill bit of the drill relative to the geologicalboundary; and

using the controller to drill to the end point.

The method may include selecting the end point by

detecting a stratigraphic band arranged above the geological boundary;and

selecting a location relative to the stratigraphic band as the endpoint.

The method may include updating the geological model using theparameters sensed during drilling. In an embodiment, the method mayinclude updating the geological model during drilling of a currentborehole to the end point relative to the geological boundary for asubsequent borehole to be drilled.

The method may include sensing the borehole parameters usingmeasurement-while-drilling (MWD) data. The method may include selectingthe parameters from the group consisting of: weight on drill bit, rateof penetration, rotation rate, bit torque, temperature, depth,translation of the X, Y, and Z axes (XYZ translation), gas pressure,spectral scan data, and combinations of the foregoing. Further, themethod may include updating the geological model in real time during thedrilling operation using the MWD data.

In an embodiment, the controller may be an autonomous controller and themethod may include selecting the end point to be the geologicalboundary. In another embodiment, the controller may be controlled by anoperator and the method may include alerting the operator when the endpoint is reached so that the operator can control the drill to avoid orminimise penetration of the geological boundary.

In a second aspect there is provided a method of drilling to a positionrelative to a geological boundary in a geological formation, the methodincluding

sensing borehole parameters while a borehole is being drilled in thegeological formation;

using a geological model of the geological formation including thegeological boundary to determine an end point at a defined positionrelative to the boundary

feeding the sensed parameters and the end point to a controller whichcontrols operation of a drill drilling the borehole;

using the controller to drill to the end point; and

updating the geological model using the sensed parameters and updatingthe end point for a subsequent hole to be drilled.

In a third aspect, there is provided a system for drilling to a positionrelative to a geological boundary in a geological formation, the systemincluding

a sensor pack for sensing parameters associated with a drillingoperation carried out in the geological formation by a drill;

a data storage module for storing a geological model of the geologicalformation and data relating to the sensed parameters, the geologicalmodel including data relating to the geological boundary;

a processor module configured to monitor the drilling operation usingthe data related to the sensed parameters and to locate the position ofa drill bit of the drill in the geological formation and itscorresponding position within the geological model, the processor modulebeing further configured to generate an end point arranged at a definedposition relative to the geological boundary; and

a drill controller in communication with the processor module, the drillcontroller being configured to control operation of the drill and tocause the drill to cease drilling when the end point has been reached.

The system processor module may be configured to select the end point by

detecting a stratigraphic band arranged above the geological boundary;and

selecting a location relative to the stratigraphic band as the endpoint.

The processor module may be operable to update the geological modelusing the parameters sensed during drilling. In an embodiment, theprocessor module may update the geological model during drilling of acurrent borehole to estimate the end point relative to the geologicalboundary for a subsequent borehole to be drilled by the drill.

The sensor pack may use measurement-while-drilling (MWD) sensors. Thesensor pack may comprise sensors selected from the group consisting of:weight on drill bit, rate of penetration, rotation rate, bit torque,temperature, depth, XYZ translation, gas pressure, spectral scan data,and combinations of the foregoing.

The processor module may be configured to update the geological model inreal time on receipt of data from the sensor pack.

In an embodiment, the drill may be an autonomous drill and the drillcontroller may be operable under the action of the processor module tocease drilling when the end point has been reached. In anotherembodiment, the drill may be an operator-controlled drill and thecontroller may be responsive to commands from the operator to ceasedrilling when the end point has been reached.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a system for drilling to aposition relative to a geological boundary in a geological formation,the system including

a sensor pack for sensing parameters associated with a drillingoperation carried out in the geological formation by a drill;

a data storage module for storing a geological model of the geologicalformation including the geological boundary, the data storage modulefurther storing an end point arranged at a defined position relative tothe geological boundary;

a processor module configured to monitor the drilling operation;

a drill controller in communication with the processor module, the drillcontroller being configured to control operation of the drill and tocause the drill to cease drilling when the end point has been reached;and

the processor module further being configured to use the sensedparameters to update the end point for a subsequent hole to be drilledby the drill.

The processor module may be configured to generate the end point whichis then stored in the data module.

The disclosure extends also to software that, when installed on acomputer, causes the computer to perform any of the methods describedabove.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a drill which includes

a drilling platform;

a support structure mounted on the platform;

a drilling mechanism displaceably supported by the support structure,the drilling mechanism terminating in a drill bit for drilling aborehole; and

a drill controller carried on the drilling platform, the drillcontroller being operative to control operation of the drillingmechanism and the drill controller further being responsive to commandsto cease drilling when the drill bit reaches an end point arranged at adefined position relative to a geological boundary.

The drill may include a sensor pack for sensing parameters relating to adrilling operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the disclosure are now described by way of example onlywith reference to the accompanying drawings in which:—

FIG. 1 shows a schematic, perspective view of a drill to be controlled;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a system for drillingto a position relative to a geological boundary in a geologicalformation;

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of the operation of a processor module ofFIG. 2 ;

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of drilling to aposition relative to a geological boundary in a geological formation;

FIG. 5 shows an example of a graphical display of the system;

FIG. 6 shows a plot of exploration holes indicating differentstratigraphic bands in the geological formation to be drilled;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic representation of the geology of a geologicalformation to be drilled indicating the varying nature of stratigraphicbands of the geological formation; and

FIG. 8 shows a schematic representation of a blast hole being drilled toan end point.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In open cut mining, overburden needs to be removed to access the metalsor minerals (the “materials of interest”) to be mined. Particularly inthe case where the material of interest occurs in the form of a seam, aproblem arises when boreholes are drilled through the overburden in thatthe boreholes penetrate the seam. When the boreholes are subsequentlycharged with explosives and the explosives are detonated, that part ofthe seam which has been penetrated is removed together with theoverburden.

It will be appreciated that, with the increasing economic value of thematerials of interest, for example, coal, even the removal of a smallamount of material from the seam during a waste blast to removeoverburden could result in substantially less revenue being generatedfor the mine.

While the present disclosure is of benefit in numerous applications, forease of explanation, the present disclosure will be described withreference to its application to open-cut coal mining. Those skilled inthe art will, however, appreciate that the present disclosure couldreadily be applied to other mining applications and, in particular,where the material of interest occurs in seams. Thus, the presentdisclosure is also readily applicable, for example, to diamond mining,copper mining, etc. It will further be appreciated that the presentdisclosure could be applied in underground mining applications as wellwhere it is necessary or desirable to drill to a seam of a material ofinterest.

To aid in the description of the system and method of the disclosure,reference is initially made to FIG. 1 of the drawings in which referencenumeral 10 generally designates a self-propelled drilling rig, or drill,10. The drill 10 comprises a platform 12 supported on displacingelements, generally in the form of tracked members, or tracks, 14, 16. Acabin 18 is arranged on the platform 12 and may or may not be populatedby an operator depending on the mode of operation of the drill 10. Inthe case of more recent, fully autonomous drills 10, the cabin 18 isomitted.

A support structure in the form of a drill mast 20 projects upwardlyfrom the platform 12. A drill string (not shown) is supported by thedrill mast 20, the drill string terminating, at its operatively lowerend, in a drill bit 22.

The drill 10 includes a drill controller 24 which is used for drivingthe tracks 14, 16 to propel the drill 10 over terrain, such as a benchof an open cut, in which boreholes are to be drilled. The drillcontroller 24 also controls operation of the drill string supported bythe drill mast 20 and includes drive mechanisms for rotationally drivingthe drill string and percussive members for operating the drill stringin a hammer or percussive mode.

The drill 10 includes a sensor pack 26. The sensor pack 26 comprisesvarious sensors as will be described in greater detail below. Inparticular, the sensors of the sensor pack 26 aremeasurement-while-drilling (MWD) sensors. The sensor pack 26 alsoincludes a position determining sensor such as, for example, a GPSsensor 28 for determining the location of the drill 10 and the boreholedrilled by the drill 10.

Referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, an embodiment of a system fordrilling to a position relative to a geological boundary in a geologicalformation is illustrated and is designated generally by the referencenumeral 30. The system 30 includes the drill controller 24 and thesensor pack 26 referenced above. The sensor pack 26 communicates withcomponents of the drill 10 and, in particular, the drill string anddrill bit 22 for monitoring a drilling operation carried out by thedrill 10 under the control of the drill controller 24.

A processor module 32 receives data from the sensor pack 26 and uses thesensor data to update a geological model 46 (FIG. 3 ) of the regionbeing drilled and/or to generate the geological model 46 as will bedescribed in greater detail below. The system 10 includes a data storagemodule, or database, 34 in which data relating to the parameters sensedby the sensor pack 26 are stored and which is accessible by theprocessor module 32. The data are used by the processor module 32 toenable the geological model 46 to be generated or updated. A geologicalmodel 46 which has been previously generated is stored in the database34.

The processor module 32 includes a processor 36, associated memory 38and input/output devices 40 communicating with each other and thedatabase 34 via a bus 42. The processor module 32 may either be arrangedon the drill 10 or remotely from the drill 10 depending on the mode ofoperation of the drill 10. In the latter case, the processor module 32may be configured to operate the drill 10 in a remote control manner orto allow the drill 10 to operate autonomously.

The memory 38 stores code for execution by the processor 36 to performthe method of the disclosure. The input/output devices 40 include adisplay device 42, such as display screen, for displaying a display 50such as that shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings.

The sensor pack 26 includes a plurality of individual sensors 26.1-26.nand also includes the position determining sensor 28. The sensors26.1-26.n include a weight on bit sensor, a rate of penetration sensor(which may measure pull down rate on the drill string), a rotation rate,a drill bit torque sensor, a temperature sensor, a depth sensor, XYZtranslation sensors, one or more gas pressure sensors and one or moregeophysical sensors for conducting spectral analysis of core samplesremoved from the drill in situ. For this purpose, the sensor pack 26includes spectral scanning sensors 44 (FIG. 1 ) mounted on the drillplatform 12 to enable real time spectral analysis of a borehole sample,in the form of drill chips, removed from the drill string to beconducted. The spectral analysis may incorporate gamma ray detection,neutron detection, or the like either on the drill chips or down thehole on the drill string proximate the drill bit 28. The geophysicalsensors may also detect in-ground parameters such as gamma radiationoccurring in the borehole being drilled by the drill 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings, the processor 36 of theprocessor module 32 is configured to receive data from a plurality ofthe sensors 26.1-26.n of the sensor pack 26 to conduct a real timeanalysis of the stratigraphic layers being drilled by the drill bit 22of the drill 10. In one embodiment, the processor 36 updates apreviously provided geological model 46 in real time. In anotherembodiment, the processor 36 uses sensor data from the sensor pack 26 togenerate a model of the geological formation in real time as thedrilling operation proceeds.

International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2011/000116 dated 4 Feb. 2011in the name of The University of Sydney and entitled “Rock propertymeasurements while drilling”, discloses a method of, and a system for,characterising in-ground rock types from measurement-while-drilling datain a mining environment. The disclosure of the international patentapplication provides a useful basis for generating a geological modelfor a region of interest being drilled and the contents of theapplication are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Another useful disclosure for obtaining a geological model for theregion of interest being drilled is International Patent Application No.PCT/AU2010/000522 dated 12 May 2010 in the name of The University ofSydney and entitled “A method and system for data analysis andsynthesis”, the contents of which are incorporated herein by referencein their entirety.

Yet another useful disclosure for obtaining a geological model for theregion of interest being drilled is International Patent Application No.PCT/AU2011/001342 dated 21 Oct. 2011 in the name of The University ofSydney and entitled “Method for large scale, non-reverting anddistributed spatial estimation”, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

Still a further useful disclosure for obtaining a geological model forthe region of interest being drilled is International Patent ApplicationNo. PCT/AU2009/001668 dated 21 Dec. 2009 in the name of The Universityof Sydney and entitled “A method and system of data modelling”, thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

The geological models of any of the above international patentapplications, suitably modified if necessary, can thus be used as theinitial geological model for the present disclosure. It will, however,be appreciated that any other suitable geological model, if available,could be employed as an initial geological model of the geologicalformation being, or to be, drilled.

While the above international applications provide reasonable bases formodels which enable boundaries between stratigraphic layers to bedetermined or inferred, the international applications do not or may notprovide boundary data with sufficient accuracy to minimise penetrationof a seam of the material of interest.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7 , stratigraphic layers 47 of ageological formation 49 may undulate significantly or there may be afault (not shown) intersecting the layers 47 causing displacement of thelayers 47 on opposite sides of the fault. Hence, the previouslygenerated or inferred geological model 46 may not be a sufficientlyaccurate representation of the geological formation 49. By updating themodel 46 using data generated from the sensor pack 26, the model 46 canbe updated during the drilling operation to improve the accuracy of themodel 46.

A particular benefit of the disclosure is that the system 30 affords thebenefit of updating the model 46 for a subsequent borehole (not shown)to be generated. Hence, when the data from the current borehole 51 beingdrilled are received, the processor module 32 is configured to analysethe sensor data from that borehole 51 (and previous boreholes ifnecessary) to compare the data with stored data relating to thegeological model and to update the geological model 46 for thesubsequent borehole to be drilled. In this way the accuracy of thesubsequent borehole to be drilled is improved and there is a lowerlikelihood of penetrating the seam containing the material of interest.

Hence, the processor 36 of the processor module 32 of the system 30receives the relevant data from the sensors 26.1-26.n of the sensor pack26, the data if necessary, including data from the position determiningsensor 28. The processor 36 accesses the geological model 46 in thedatabase 32 and updates the data contained in the geological model 46using real time data obtained from the sensor pack 26. From this, anupdated geological model 46 (FIG. 3 ) is provided and a geological modelmap 48, containing a desired end point to which to drill a borehole, isgenerated. The geological model map 48 is provided by the processormodule 32 to the drill controller 24 to control operation of the drill10.

The geological model map 48 is displayed as a display 50 on the displayscreen 42 and is visible to an operator, whether situated remotely fromthe drill 10 or on the drill 10, or a person monitoring operations, inthe case of an autonomous drill 10. The display 50 comprises athree-dimensional view 52 of a bench 54 being drilled by the drill 10 aswell as a cross-sectional display 56. The cross-sectional display 56 ofthe map 48 shows an overburden layer 58 such as, for example, shale,separated from a seam 60 of coal to be mined by a boundary 62, theboundary 62 being the top of the coal seam 60 of interest. The display50 further shows a plurality of boreholes 64 drilled or to be drilled toan end point which, in this embodiment, is at the boundary 62. Insteadof the end point being at the boundary, the end point could, instead, bea predetermined stand-off distance ‘d’ (FIG. 8 ) above the boundary 62as will be described in greater detail below.

While the end point has been described as a physical location in thegeological model map 48, it will be appreciated that the end point couldbe defined in other ways. For example, the end point could beestablished by the processor module 32 determining that a plurality ofparameters sensed by relevant sensors of the sensor pack 26 have eachreached a predetermined value, the values of those parameters togetherdefining the end point.

It will be appreciated that, instead of using the geological modelprovided by the above referenced international patent applications, datarelating to the bench 54 could be sourced in other ways, for example, bypre-drilling a number of holes in the bench 54 to infer thestratigraphic layout of the bench 54.

In the case of an autonomous drill 10, the drill controller 24 receivesupdated information, in real time, from the processor module 32 of thegeological model 46 and the end point on the map 48. The position of theend point of that particular borehole 64 being drilled is defined as theboundary 62 which is the transition between the overburden 58 and thecoal seam 60 or, instead, the end point is the predetermined stand-offdistance ‘d’ from the boundary 62.

In the case of a remotely controlled drill 10, the display screen 42 ismonitored by an operator. The processor module 32 sends instructions tothe drill controller 24 to terminate drilling at the end point. In thiscase, the end point is arranged to be above the boundary 62, forexample, when a stratigraphic layer above the seam 60 is penetrated sothat the operator is able to control the drill 10 to ensure that thedrill bit 22 does not penetrate the coal seam 60 or penetrates the coalseam 60 only to a minimal extent.

The drill 10 could also be operated by an operator seated in the cab 18of the drill 10. In that case, the operator, either by monitoring thedisplay 50 on the display screen 42 mounted in the cab 18, or afterreceiving instructions from a remote site, operates the drill controller24 to cause the drill controller 24 to stop drilling when the drill bit22 reaches the end point. Once again, in this case, the end point may beupstream of the boundary 62 to enable the operator to control the drill10 to ensure that the drill bit 22 does not penetrate the coal seam 60at all or only to a minimal extent.

In the two latter cases, i.e. the remotely controlled drill 10 or theoperator controlled drill 10, the system 30 may be operable to select asub-economic seam of the material of interest as a marker band definingthe end point for each hole to be drilled. FIG. 6 of the drawings showsa plot of exploration holes previously drilled from which the geology ofthe geological formation has been inferred and from which the geologicalmodel 46 has been generated. FIG. 8 shows a schematic representation ofa blast hole being drilled to an end point 63 arranged at a stand-offdistance ‘d’ above the boundary 62 of the seam 60.

The seam containing the material of interest to be extracted is shown at60 corresponding to the seam 60 in FIG. 5 of the drawings. Astratigraphic layer defining a marker band 61 overlies, and is spacedvertically above, the seam 60, the layer being a sub-economic layer ofcoal (or other mineral of interest) or it may be a geological layer of adifferent geology to the seam 60 to be extracted.

The processor module 32 is configured to identify the marker band 61.Various ways of identifying the marker band 61 may be employed. Onemethod may include, for example, using a characteristic rock hardnessmeasure of the marker band 61 at an expected depth. The rock hardnessmeasure may, for example, use Adjusted Penetration Rate from the MWDdata of the drill 10 as described in the 2012 IEEE InternationalConference Paper on Robotics and Automation entitled “Automatic RockRecognition from Drilling Performance Data” by Zhou et al.

The processor module 32 sets the end point 63 to which the hole 64 is tobe drilled at a predetermined distance below the marker band 61 todefine the stand-off distance ‘d’ from the end point 63 to the boundary62 at the top of the seam 60. For example, this stand-off distance ‘d’may be about 300 mm-500 mm above the boundary 62. In this way, theoperator controls the drill 10 to cease drilling at the end point 63below the marker band 61. Drilling to a depth below the marker band 61as defined by the end point 63, but terminating drilling at thestand-off distance ‘d’ above the seam 60 prevents or minimisespenetration of the seam 60 allowing more economically beneficialextraction of the seam 60 to occur. The marker band 61 is selected to bea stratigraphic layer that is easily detectable and has relativelyconstant spacing from the boundary 62 of the seam 60.

While the use of the marker band 61 as the stand-off datum line has beendescribed with reference to its application in the case of anoperator-controlled drill 10, whether remotely controlled or by anoperator accommodated on the drill 10, it will be understood that thismarker band 61 could also be used in the case of an autonomouslyoperated drill if desired.

In FIG. 4 , reference numeral 70 generally designates a flow chartshowing an embodiment of a method of drilling to a position relative toa geological boundary in a geological formation. At step 72 of themethod, the drilling operation is initialised. Initialisation involvespositioning of the drill 10 at the location where a borehole 64 is to bedrilled in the bench 54. The initialisation procedure further involveslowering the drill bit 22 into abutment with the surface into which theborehole 64 is to be drilled. The drill bit 22 is lowered under thecontrol of the drill controller 24.

The drilling operation itself then commences at step 74 under control ofthe drill controller 24. While drilling proceeds, various parametersrelating to the drilling operation are sent to the processor module 32at step 76 using the sensor pack 26. As indicated above, the sensors26.1-26.n monitor various parameters relating to the drilling operation.

At step 78, the processor 36 determines whether or not a geologicalmodel for the bench 54 being drilled is already available. If not, theprocessor 36 of the processor module 32 generates the model using analgorithm as shown at step 80. The processor 36 of the processor module32 uses MWD data from the sensor pack 26 in the algorithm to generatethe geological model 46 in real time. Data from the sensors 26.1-26.nare used in the algorithm to improve the accuracy of the geologicalmodel 46.

If a model 46 already exists, the model 46 is updated at step 82 usingthe MWD data relating to the sensed parameters received from the sensorpack 26.

The processor module 32 monitors the drilling progress as shown at step84 and queries at step 86 whether or not the end point for that borehole64 in the geological map 48 has been reached. As described above, in thecase of an autonomous drill 10, the end point is selected by theprocessor module 32 to be the boundary 62 between the overburden 58 andthe seam 60. If the drill 10 is being operated in a non-autonomous modeor, if desired, also when the drill 10 is operated in an autonomousmode, or if it is difficult to infer where the boundary 62 is from thedata available in the geological model 46, the end point 63 may beselected by the processor module 32 to be at the stand-off distance ‘d’above the boundary 62 so that the drill bit 22 stands off beforeintersecting the boundary 62. This also inhibits any overshoot of thedrill bit 22 and, as a result, inhibits penetration of the seam 60 atall or only to a very minimal extent.

If the processor module 32 determines that the end point has beenreached, a command is sent by the processor module 32 to the drillcontroller 24 to stop drilling as shown at step 88.

If the processor module 32 determines that the end point has not yetbeen reached, drilling continues, as described above, until theprocessor module 32 determines that the end point has been reached atwhich time the drill controller 24 is commanded to stop the drillingoperation.

It is to be noted that, in generating the geological model 46, thealgorithm used may employ mathematical modelling on sample data derivedfrom data relating to the bench 54. This mathematical modelling mayinclude suitable interpolation techniques or other mathematicaltechniques such as Gaussian Processes.

It is an advantage of the described embodiments of the disclosure that amethod and system are provided which facilitate real time updating of anin-ground geological model to assist in more accurately determining theboundary between overburden and material to be mined. Hence, thelikelihood of drilling into the material to be mined and which resultsin subsequent removal of that material, is reduced. This results inincreased recovery of mined material with the resultant improvedeconomics associated with operating the mine.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or thelike which has been included in the present specification is not to betaken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of theprior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant tothe present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of eachclaim of this application.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerousvariations and/or modifications may be made to the above-describedembodiments, without departing from the broad general scope of thepresent disclosure. The present embodiments are, therefore, to beconsidered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

1. A method for generating and updating a geological model of a regionbeing drilled, the method including: obtaining, from a sensor pack of adrill, data sensed during a drilling operation; receiving, by aprocessor module, the sensed data to generate the geological modelincluding a drilling boundary; obtaining, from the sensor pack, furtherdata sensed during a further drilling operation; receiving, by theprocessor module, the further sensed data; and using, by the processormodule, the further sensed data to update the geological model and/orthe drilling boundary.
 2. The method according to claim 1 including thefurther steps of: detecting a stratigraphic band arranged above thedrilling boundary; and selecting a location relative to thestratigraphic band as a drilling end point.
 3. The method according toclaim 2 wherein the step of selecting the drilling end point furtherincludes: setting the drilling end point at a predetermined distancebelow the drilling boundary to define a stand-off distance from thedrilling end point to the drilling boundary.
 4. The method according toclaim 1 wherein the sensor pack includes a plurality of individualsensors including one or more selected from the group consisting of: aweight on bit sensor; a rate of penetration sensor; a rotation ratesensor; a drill bit torque sensor; a temperature sensor; a depth sensor;a XYZ translation sensor; a gas pressure sensor; and a geophysicalsensor.
 5. The method according to claim 1 including the further stepof: storing the sensed data and further sensed data in a data storagemodule which is accessible by the processor module.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 5 wherein previously generated geological models arestored in the data storage module.
 7. The method according to claim 1including the further step of: displaying, on a display module having adisplay, the geological model and/or the drilling boundary.
 8. Themethod according to claim 7 wherein the displayed geological modelcomprises a three-dimensional view of a bench being drilled and/or across-sectional view.
 9. The method according to claim 8 wherein thecross-sectional view shows an overburden layer overlying a seam layer,wherein the drilling boundary is defined by the top of the seam layer.10. The method according to claim 1 wherein the drill is an autonomousdrill.
 11. A system for generating and updating a geological model of aregion being drilled, the system including: a drill having a sensor packfor sensing data during a drilling operation; and a processor moduleconfigured to receive the sensed data and, based on the sensed data,generating the geological model including a drilling boundary; whereinthe sensor pack is configured to obtain further data sensed during afurther drilling operation such that the processor module, upon receiptof the further sensed data, is configured to update the geological modeland/or the drilling boundary.
 12. The system according to claim 11wherein the processor module is configured to: detect a stratigraphicband arranged above the drilling boundary; and select a locationrelative to the stratigraphic band as a drilling end point.
 13. Thesystem according to claim 12 wherein the drilling end point is set at apredetermined distance below the drilling boundary to define a stand-offdistance from the drilling end point to the drilling boundary.
 14. Thesystem according to claim 11 wherein the sensor pack includes aplurality of individual sensors including one or more selected from thegroup consisting of: a weight on bit sensor; a rate of penetrationsensor; a rotation rate sensor; a drill bit torque sensor; a temperaturesensor; a depth sensor; a XYZ translation sensor; a gas pressure sensor;and a geophysical sensor.
 15. The system according to claim 11 includinga data storage module accessible by the processor module for storing thesensed data and further sensed data.
 16. The system according to claim15 wherein previously generated geological models are stored in the datastorage module.
 17. The system according to claim 11 including a displaymodule having a display for visually displaying the geological modeland/or the drilling boundary.
 18. The system according to claim 17wherein the displayed geological model comprises a three-dimensionalview of a bench being drilled and/or a cross-sectional view.
 19. Thesystem according to claim 18 wherein the cross-sectional view shows anoverburden layer overlying a seam layer, wherein the drilling boundaryis defined by the top of the seam layer.
 20. The system according toclaim 11 wherein the drill is an autonomous drill.